Alan Gansberg, dean of Columbia College Hollywood, was skeptical when he was approached with an idea to create a class about Oscar-nominated actor James Franco’s work. But after Tyler Danna, a teacher at the college and professional film editor, brought up the idea, Gansberg said he was on board.

‘Overall, it was a really good situation with a lot of educational value,’ Gansberg said.

Danna, who is currently teaching ‘Master Class: Editing James Franco… With James Franco,’ came up with the idea for the course with Franco. Franco, who has appeared in films such as the ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy, ‘Date Night’ and ‘127 Hours,’ has been involved in the class. He communicates with the students via e-mail and Skype and even makes personal appearances at the school when his schedule allows him the time, Gansberg said.

‘He is participating when he can,’ Gansberg said. ‘He is very much involved with the conception of the class.’

The class is made up of 12 editing or cinema majors, and another student is acting as a videographer for the class, taping the course and collecting footage that could be used for their final project. All students had to apply for the course. The application required instructor recommendations, faculty recommendations and a reel of student work. But with a student body of 325, administrators are familiar with students and know ‘who’s really good,’ Gansberg said.

In the class, the students are taking behind-the-scenes footage of Franco from Franco’s own video library. From that, the students are turning the footage into a multifaceted project, Gansberg said.

‘They’re putting their heart and soul into creating something,’ Gansberg said.

The project will not be a standard documentary, nor will it be a biography of Franco’s life. The project is still being developed between Danna and Franco.

‘I don’t even know 100 percent of what they’re doing,’ Gansberg said. ‘It is not just an ego trip for Mr. Franco.’

Gansberg said that within two hours of releasing a press statement, news about the course had spread all over the world. But the purpose of the course has been misrepresented in the media, Gansberg said. Franco asked all of the students taking the course to refrain from reading any articles about the course because of the misrepresentation and criticism coming from the media.

Gansberg said Franco was not present in the classroom during the first week of classes. But Gansberg is excited for the course because he feels it holds a lot of educational value for the students, he said.

This is not the first time a celebrated actor has entered the college. Gansberg said it is not uncommon for a school in Los Angeles to have recognizable faces walking through the building or teaching at the campus.

But the class and Franco have created a stir of excitement among students, Gansberg said.

‘Students were going by and sticking their heads in because they thought he was coming in,’ Gansberg said. ‘They were like little kids.’

snbouvia@syr.edu

Published on February 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia